Flood mitigation

At its most basic level, flood mitigation is capturing water and then releasing it at a slower rate, with the aim of minimising river levels downstream of the dam.

All dams help mitigate flooding to some extent. The peak outflow from a gated or un-gated dam during a flood event is less than the peak outflow that would have occurred had the dam not been built, because some water is held in the dam while it is spilling. Read more about how dams work.

In April 2014, the Department of Energy and Water Supply announced the new flood mitigation strategies for the operation of Wivenhoe, Somerset and North Pine dams, as a result of the optimisation studies and public consultation.

The studies were completed in response to the Queensland Flood Commission of Inquiry to investigate potential alternative operations of the existing dams during floods.